Police say Imran sheltering rioters, surround his house
Probably my last tweet before my next arrest. Police have surrounded my house: Imran; PTI chief given 24-hour ultimatum to handover ‘terrorists;’ if police open fire women will be the first to sacrifice their lives: Imran’s sister
Police surrounded the home of former Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday, claiming he was sheltering dozens of people allegedly involved in violent protests over his recent detention.
The police deployment was likely to anger Imran’s many followers and raised concerns about more clashes between them and the security forces.
Last week, Imran supporters had atacked public property and military installations ater he was dragged out of a courtroom and detained.
The popular opposition leader was released over the weekend and returned to his home in an upscale district of Lahore, Pakistan’s second largest city and the capital of the Punjab region.
On Wednesday, Imran took to Twiter ater 200 police officers surrounded the house, and a prison van appeared on the scene.
“Probably my last tweet before my next arrest,” Imran tweeted. “Police have surrounded my house.”
Imran has said that if the police come with a search warrant to carry out a search operation at his Zaman Park residence in Lahore, he will not resist the move, media reports said.
“I have just heard that 40 terrorists are hiding at my residence. Please do come here [but] in a civilised manner and don’t atempt to storm my residence,” he said while addressing his supporters from his Lahore residence on Wednesday, Geo News reported.
While the police were gathering outside Khan’s residence, the former premier addressed the nation, calling on all quarters to use this time to talk and act wisely.
“There is still time. Talk and be wise. The only solution to this crisis is elections. Those who can make elections happen, I appeal to them to save the country by holding polls,” Khan said in his video address.
The PTI chief said that he has never called on his party supporters to carry out violent atacks on military installations or any state building as that is not the philosophy of his party.
“When there were assassination atempts on me, there were no such mob atacks; when they tried to arrest me before, there were no violent riots, because I have always told my party workers to stage and register peaceful protests,” Imran said.
Imran’s sister Aleema Khanum has warned that if the police open fire at the former Prime Minister’s Zaman Park residence, “women will be the first to sacrifice their lives”, media reports said.
Talking to media persons outside Khan’s residence, she said that those who had brutally killed and beaten up PTI supporters were the “real terrorists”, Dawn reported.
Earlier in the day, Punjab caretaker Information Minister Amir Mir on Wednesday warned the Pakistan Tehreek-e-insaf (PTI) leadership [particularly Imran Khan] to hand over 30-40 “terrorists” hiding in his residence Zaman Park Lahore within 24 hours otherwise law will take its course for their arrest.
At a presser, he also made the big announcement that these terrorists would be tried by the military courts.
It means that they would be booked under the Pakistan Army Act for atacking military installations.
Mir said these criminals were involved in terrorism and atacks on the military installations during the May 9 protest of the PTI in different cities.
He said that “technical and intelligence” information had also been received through geo-fencing that terrorists have sought refuge in Zaman Park residence of Imran Khan.
He said that these terrorists also included those who had atacked the Lahore Corps Commander House.
All the roads leading to Imran’s Zaman Park residence have been blocked by the police, media reported.
Video footage from the site showed a huge contingent of Punjab police outside the expremier’s residence.
Imran, 70, was ousted by a non-confidence vote in parliament last year. He is currently facing more than 100 cases, mainly on charges of inciting people to violence, threatening officials, and defying a ban on rallies. He also faces a grat case along with his wife.